Irvine-based homebuilder Standard Pacific Corp. reported a second-quarter profit of $10.7 million on Thursday, while closing on and entering contracts to buy nearly $300 million of land to build homes on.
The company, Orange County’s largest homebuilder, now has turned a profit in two of the past three quarters, after seeing several years of losses. It lost $23.1 million in the second quarter of 2009.
The improved results this quarter were due to higher revenue, higher gross margins, higher average sales prices and lower asset impairments, according to the company.
Standard Pacific reported revenue of $317.2 million for the quarter, up 9% from a year earlier.
It reported 891 home deliveries in the quarter, down from 942 home deliveries a year ago but well above first quarter home deliveries of 537.
The average home price for a Standard Pacific home sold in the quarter was $355,000, up 18% from a year ago. The gross margin from home sales in the quarter was 20.9%, compared to 18.5% a year ago.
“Achieving this level of profitability at these sales rates bodes particularly well for our financial performance when the market begins to recover,” said Ken Campbell, Standard Pacific’s chief executive, in a statement. “I am looking forward to that recovery … anxiously.”
During the second quarter, the company agreed to buy, but didn’t close on, $198 million of land, which could hold about 2,900 lots.
It also closed on $103 million of land deals in the quarter, $79.4 million of which was paid in cash.
About 78% of the land deals Standard Pacific closed on in the quarter were in California.
